Civil war: The War Between The States
by: Dylan Pittillo & Zach Montoya

The civil war started in 1861 and was a war between the confederates and the union, or the north and the south. The main argument of the Civil War was to either make slavery legal everywhere or to oabolish it altogether. It began on April 12, 1861 when the confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The confederate states were led by general Robert E. Lee while the union was led by Ulysses S. Grant. The confederacy dominated the east until the Battle of Gettysburg (1863) wich was the turning point for the union. The battle dealt the confederacy many casualties and forced a short retreat of their remaining forces. Meanwhile in the west the usion had just captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, wich in turn gave them control of the Mississippi River. The union's capture of the Mississippi split the union in two. The battles continued for two more years after with battles such as the battles of attrtion and the capturing of Atlanta by union general William Sherman. Then finally on April 9, 1865 general Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.


Here are some of the casualty numbers of both sides:

Union (2,100,000) Confederacy(1,064,000)
KIA: 111,100 93,000
Total deaths: 360,000 260,000
Wounded: 275,200 137,000+



Cool Facts:

  • of the people that died, it equaled two percent of the population
  • it was the bloodiest conflict in american history
  • the only union state not to send a regiman was South Carolina
  • two-thirds of the soldiers that died did so from disease
  • the first ever naval hospital ship, Red Rover, was used in the Civil War
  • Robert E. Lee traveled with a pet hen that laid one egg under his cot every morning
  • a soldier, fully loaded, carried around seven pounds of ammunition
  • the first civilian killed by john brown was a free black man
  • the first organized ambulance corps. was initiated during the war
  • president lincoln did not believe that whites and blacks could live together peacefully, he planned to relocate the entire black population to central america
  • more than 10,000 soldiers were under the age of eighteen


Weapon info:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/civilwarweapons.htm



Photos:

The prison camp at Belle Isle in Richmond, VA  (You can see the Capitol building in the background)
The prison camp at Belle Isle in Richmond, VA (You can see the Capitol building in the background)



A group of Federal soldiers at the Appomattox Court House after the surrender of General Lee's forces.
A group of Federal soldiers at the Appomattox Court House after the surrender of General Lee's forces.



The railroad engine "Gen Haupt" at the Alexandria Roundhouse.
The railroad engine "Gen Haupt" at the Alexandria Roundhouse.



all photos from http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/index.html